Davos: Low-carbon sources of energy vital for developing countries

Dr Toulmin was responding to a statement by the Bill Gates Foundation, which highlights the threat climate change poses for developing countries and argues that access to cheap, low-carbon energy sources is vital for future growth.

Dr Toulmin said: “Access to energy is a vital issue for growth. In many poor countries, community scale renewable energy is often the cheapest and easiest way to supply electricity.

“In developing countries, electricity transmission can be a bigger problem than generation. People live off-grid and even those who are connected have to cope with unreliable and expensive supplies. This means that expanding centralized fossil fuel generation is more expensive than other options like renewable energy.

“With the costs of technologies, like solar power, dropping dramatically, renewables are simply a cheaper and easier way to both boost energy access and tackle climate change than using fossil fuels like coal.

“Renewable energy and boosting access to cleaner cook-stoves provide additional benefits by cutting air pollution, which is also exacerbated by increased fossil fuel use.”